What a final the cup and plate was this season! Over the past 5 years, I've observed mostly defensive bitty games. And who can blame them for playing like that? When the winners of a tournament come down to who wins in 80 minutes, games are bound to get cautious. It's not a coincidence that a good ratio of finals in the past have come down to penalties.

This season was different. In the plate, Teranga and Shane faced off for a tumultuous final. Being both in Division 3, they've played each other twice earlier in the season. Both matches were as civil as Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield and this one was no different. Tackles flying in and big characters clashing, the ref had to work to the bone for this match! But just like Tyson vs Holyfield, both sides knew exactly the necessity to fight dirty. It slows down the opponent's momentum and also ensures you aren't getting walked all over by any aggression from the opponent. A total of 5 yellows were shown but players managed to avoid being sent off. It was Alejandro Chavez that scored the opener, a freekick from just outside the box. A huge momentum spike, especially given that Teranga players argued he should have received a red card instead of a yellow moments earlier. Kodai Takano, Shane's trust worthy striker, doubled their lead with 10 minutes left. As the minutes dwindled down, Terangas top scorer Eboko Ikechukwu managed to get one back but it was too little too late. Shane FC win the plate back to back (winning last season against YeBoiz FC)!
The cup was surprisingly much tamer in attitude, but more sophisticated in football. Pumas FC were coming off a hot win, having just sealed the Division 1 champions. Meanwhile Dutch FC were coming off a 5 loss streak in the league. But it was a very beautiful game to watch as both teams went all out on attack. The man(s) of the match were both teams keepers, making point blank saves and stopping several one vs ones. The nil nil score line is not accurately reflecting the contents of the match, the game could have been easily a 3-3 game had the keepers not performed out of their minds! At the end, the game was called in for penalties. A real chance for Dutch FC to win a big piece of silverware this season but Pumas did not miss their penalties. With Dutch missing their 4th penalty, Pumas scored their 5th to seal the deal. Pumas have accomplished the biggest feat, winning Division 1 and the Cup in the same season. 

Congrats to Shane FC for winning the ESR FJ Plate and Pumas FC for winning the ESR FJ Cup!